Statements of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in a meeting with a group of cinema and television directors

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

This session was very useful and desirable for me, and I benefited from various aspects; both from the content of the friends' statements - which should be summarized; it was recorded, noted; I also took notes of the main points; however, it is the responsibility of the friends to compile these discussions so that, in addition to the knowledge we gain from this session and the issues of cinema, a step is taken towards progress and, God willing, some obstacles will be removed - and also from the differing opinions that I see exist in the field of cinema. No, I do not see this as a reason for the oppression of cinema - as Mr. Reysian mentioned - I see this as a sign that in the cinema environment of our country, there is a playing field where sometimes opinions differ by one hundred and eighty degrees, yet everyone considers themselves a child of cinema and even the owner of cinema and demands the rights of cinema; this is something desirable and interesting for me. Of course, I knew and had heard for years that there are differing opinions in perspective and orientation in this environment; it is evident from the works as well. However, what is agreed upon among all these opinions is the necessity of elevating the cinema of the country; this is what everyone wants, and I completely believe in this meaning.

From the beginning, when I wanted this session to be held, I pursued two goals; one was that I wanted to respect the cinema artists of the country; in fact, to respect the cinema of the country. I have regarded this meeting and its external reflection as a means of honoring the art of cinema and the artists of cinema, and I would like this feeling to spread in the country and the importance of cinema to become clear to everyone. Everyone has a claim, an orientation, and an expectation; but ultimately, everyone should agree on the fact that this very complex and prominent art of cinema is a necessity and a need for the country. The second goal was to listen, which, thanks be to God, was largely achieved, and we heard from you. Of course, I would have really preferred that the remaining time be spent with you speaking, so I could listen more.

Before this session, fortunately, I had the opportunity to look at some writings that some of the friends present - like Mr. Majidi and some other friends - and officials had prepared for me, and I took detailed notes from them, which now I do not know how much I will be able to use, God willing. In any case, I read the opinions of the friends.

I want to mention one point first, which I saw is a concern for many friends; and that is a kind of feeling of insecurity or concern about insecurity or the illusion of insecurity that I see exists among some friends; even one can see this concern at both ends of this wide spectrum. I truly do not see a place for this concern. It is true that we may have objections to some films - I myself, to the extent that I now understand and enjoy watching films, may have a criticism of a film; whether it is the film that is broadcast on television or what is in the cinema that sometimes is brought to us and we see some films - but I do not blame the director. There are various factors for errors in the orientation of a film; one of them may be the role of the director - which I will elaborate on later - but there are various factors. If we feel that a deep correct understanding is not reflected in a film by a director, we must see how this deep understanding could have been conveyed to the heart of this director so that he could reflect his inner understanding. Everyone must incorporate what they understand, perceive, and feel into their art; otherwise, art will become something artificial. The nature of the matter is that the filmmaker and the director, especially in this context, reflect an inner understanding. How could this inner understanding, as I the viewer like it, be conveyed to this director, and why has it not happened? This raises a question.

I remember before the revolution, there was supposed to be poets participating in a ceremony and reciting poetry. One of our young poets of that day - who had good talent - truly knew nothing about the subject. One of our friends sat for five or six hours and provided him with a detailed explanation of this subject. That poet was also a receptive and talented young man and was able to reflect that matter in a very long and powerful poem. Has any work been done in the field of reflecting those valuable Islamic teachings - which I believe are not sufficiently present in our cinema - to that filmmaker, to that director, and even to that actor? I look at myself, I look at our seminary, and I look at our cultural management institutions, and I see that we have indeed been negligent in this regard. Therefore, as the saying goes:

"Every calamity that comes from the sky, even if it is fate for another, They say, where is the house of Anvari before it reaches the ground."

One cannot go to the director and grab his collar and say, why? Well, I hold the Ministry of Culture, the Organization of Islamic Propagation, the seminary, and those who are the owners of religious thought, the same mystical thoughts, and the transcendent wisdom that you mentioned, accountable and say, what have you done for the country to benefit from this noble art - which is present in this gathering? What have you done? If no work has been done in that regard, I do not expect much from a director. I do not expect our talented artist, whose work is either empty or at least not very rich in relation to these values we seek, to be criticized for why this work is not as I like it. Therefore, I cannot accept that the target of this insecurity should be our directors, and if such a reality exists, it is an unjust and inappropriate reality.

However, with you dear friends - brothers and sisters - I have some points from the position of a cleric; naturally, neither do you expect this, nor will I make such a mistake to speak from the position of a cinema expert. People like me, at most, can be good viewers and listeners in relation to cinema and enjoy it; that is the maximum we have. Therefore, I cannot express an opinion from an expert perspective; that is up to you and your cultural management friends. But as a cleric and a seminary student, yes, I can share some points with you.

Cinema art - as you said - is undoubtedly a superior art; a completely competent narrator - that no narrator has come to this efficiency among these artistic methods of narrating a reality and a truth until today - and a complex and advanced and sublime art. You have this window at hand; that is, the cinema window towards the teachings and the light that is cast from this window inside. This window is in your hands.

The importance of this art also raises your responsibility. I want to convey this; that is, you have a heavy responsibility. As friends said, no one has ordered you to become a director or a filmmaker; this desire, talent, and enthusiasm have led you to enter this field; but now that you have entered, accept this responsibility. You can have a significant impact. Look! When I address a preacher, a cleric, and a writer of religious books - who is also a narrator of truths and teachings - and say, you must be careful about what you say, be careful about the words you use and the topics you choose that are appropriate for the time; if you say something that should not be said, or do not say something that should be said, and because of your words, a young person becomes indifferent to religion or misunderstands a truth of religious truths because of your speech; you are responsible before God Almighty; I want to say to you, this reminder to you, our dear brothers and sisters, and this very effective artistic tool is in your hands, naturally multiplies with a very high coefficient; let’s say ten times; certainly more; that is, you see how much the impact of an effective artistic film differs from that of a sermon!

Well, you can be a builder of ethics; the opposite is also possible. You can instill patience, hope, enthusiasm, motivation, health, and all the things that a developed society needs in the youth of this country. It is also possible to instill despair instead of hope; it is possible to instill stagnation instead of enthusiasm. "Criticism" that friends mention and, as this friend of ours says, should not be considered as nitpicking; no, criticism is not nitpicking; criticism - we do not want to say the literal meaning of criticism - means the same fault-finding. There are two types of fault-finding; now I and you are sitting in front of each other, we can freely criticize each other; you can criticize me, and I can criticize you. However, this fault-finding has two types; sometimes fault-finding has the aspect of humiliation, insult, putting the other in the dirt, taking revenge on the other, and tarnishing their image in the eyes of others, and this is not commendable in any noble custom - I do not say Islamic - it is not commendable. At other times, the goal of criticism is compassion, completion, removing faults, and reflecting the faults of a person, system, manager, or people back to them, and this is commendable. This may also seem bitter to the listener; however, this bitterness is a sweet bitterness. This is not a problem at all. Now I claim that from the perspective of the system, it is not a problem; if you have any doubts about this, I sincerely tell you, at least from my perspective, it is not a problem at all. Look! This goal and this orientation become evident in the quality of work; that is, if we expect to criticize in a way that the initial orientation exists in it, but the people or audiences think that we are being compassionate, this cannot happen. Just as several friends mentioned, our audiences are intelligent and understand. This becomes evident. Some films are critical; their criticism for me - that now every jolt to this system feels like a punch to me; that is, my feeling towards the system is that if you jolt any corner of the system, it feels like you have punched me - may be painful; however, I do not suffer from the essence of criticism at all and I enjoy it, and I feel that this is the spirit of the entire system; now, some may be less or more. Therefore, criticism is not a problem that some friends raised; what is important is that a sense of responsibility should arise.

Look! The reality that exists in our society today - outside of propaganda and slogans and various exaggerations - is that we are a country that, due to relying on our beliefs and showing courage in the field - we have shown courage; these cannot be denied - has become a prominent nation in the world; I do not say the most prominent, but we are a prominent nation. This Iran that you see today is not the Iran of the previous regime; when we calculate, in the world, among nations and governments, in the political circles of the world, in international interactions, and in the balance of the great powers of the world, this Iran, this nation, and this government is regarded as a respectable entity or a collection that must be taken seriously and respected. Today, the situation of our country is like this. We have made significant progress. That is, if I want to compare, I must say without exaggeration that what we have achieved as a nation and a country after the revolution is truly incomparable to what it was before the revolution. We have found faith in ourselves, recognized our talents, and have realized these talents to a very large extent; in the fields of science, industry, social issues, and public functions, we have made significant progress. One cannot compare two types of systems, a dependent system that has been eliminated in international interactions and is not confident in itself and is submissive to its people - where the leaders of the country considered the country their own; this is the era of tyranny! Now many of you remember, I remember too; we also lived in that era. The governing apparatus considered the country its own; they did not regard the people with any respect, except out of compulsion - with an organization and system that considers the officials of the country as servants of the people, not owners of the country and the people - this is the real feeling of the officials, they truly see themselves as servants and servants of the people and consider their existence to be for the people - compare this. The contrast between these two forms, the difference between these two forms, cannot be measured with money and the monthly income of a certain person; that is, it is a difference of existence and non-existence, the distance of existence and non-existence; this is what Islam demands from us and gives us. Now I do not want to enter the realm of Islamic values; if one wants to think and discuss about them, it is a very magnificent and delightful topic.

Well, this country is in such conditions; this country wants to move forward, this country wants to progress; what you hear now about nuclear technology and scientific advancements is just part of what has happened in the country. Thanks be to God, we have many young people and talents; we need hope, enthusiasm, work, self-confidence, and to reduce reliance on foreigners - on their culture, their behavior, their ideological and cultural decrees - we need these; to spring from within, to extract treasures that are in our cultural heritage. If this youth is to be raised this way, it needs your presence in the scene; that is, you must enter the field for this to happen; I say this. I say today the key is in your hands. I consider the dignity of cinema to be this. I say today the key to the progress of this country is largely in your hands; you can raise this generation to be a progressive, hopeful, enthusiastic generation, confident in themselves and in their Islamic and national values; and likewise, you can raise this generation to be ashamed, regretful, questioning the glories of the past and questioning the glory of the revolution and the sacred defense.

Once again, two or three years ago, in a session with a group of artist friends - filmmakers, painters, sculptors, etc. - I said this, you as an artist seek beauty and the subtleties of the world of existence to recognize, extract, highlight, and show them; this is the work of an artist; that is, the subtleties, beauties, details, and truths that cannot be seen with the naked eye are extracted and shown with the weapon of art and the artistic gaze. When I say beauty, it does not mean that it cannot extract and show ugliness; yes, that is also part of the subtleties. I told that gathering, you as someone who seeks beauty, how can you ignore the beauties of the eight-year defense of a nation that was empty-handed, from its homeland, from its country, from its people, and from its system, in that difficult field? Now, for several years, books about the commanders and heroes of the war have become popular, and I am a customer of these books and read them. Although I knew some of them personally and what has been written is honest narratives - one can somewhat discern which is exaggerated and which is honest - it is very moving; one sees these prominent figures even coming to the battlefield in the clothes of a worker; this master Abdolhossein Borounsi, a young builder from Mashhad, who was a builder before the revolution and was connected with me, his biography has been written, and I recommend it and truly wish you all to read it. I fear that these books may not reach you at all. The name of this book is "The Soft Earth of Koushk"; it is beautifully written. He entered the battlefield at the beginning of the war, and I had no news of it. After his martyrdom, some of our friends who had gone to university and Basij groups and talked to this illiterate young man - illiterate in the conventional sense; of course, he had studied for three or four years in seminary, and had read some introductory and preliminary texts - said that he spoke in such a way that he held the hearts of all of them in his hand; because of this, I said, he reflected an inner understanding, a sincere feeling, and a comprehension of the world; then, after many acts of bravery and presence in difficult fields, he was martyred; I do not want to delve into the details of that. The beauties that one can find in the life of such a person or martyrs like Hemmat and Khrazi, or those who are now present, where can you find their like? Where can it be found?

Meaningful cinema; well, which meaning is more eloquent and profound than the feeling of sacrifice and selflessness of an eighteen or nineteen-year-old young man, who comes from a wealthy family to Ahvaz - I have seen such young men; now I remember a few cases, especially I have interacted with them and seen - a wealthy family, a comfortable life, kind parents, neither suffering from complexes nor from deficiencies, comes to the battlefield, moving so selflessly that one is left in awe. Now many of these young men had entered this field at the recommendation of people like me. I looked and saw, where are we, where are they! One cannot even reach the dust of these individuals. Well, these are beauties; describe these, extract these. Mr. Hatami Kiya says, I do not know what to say about the war. You have a lot to say; how much have you depicted the behind-the-scenes of the war? What caused this war to start? Which international political film can come out sweeter than you depicting - documents now exist - how did Saddam Hussein dare to commit this audacity to dominate Iran? Not that he would take all of Iran, undoubtedly, his intention was to take Khuzestan and a couple of surrounding provinces and to dominate the central government of Iran - whoever that government may be; whether the Islamic Republic or anyone else - which could have happened; that is, if this valiant defense had not occurred and if that dominance over Khuzestan had taken place, would it have been possible for a central government to be in charge here and not pay tribute to someone who had powerfully seized part of the country?! Well, what happened that led him to carry out this attack, and he attacked? And how did they help him? And which factories sold him chemical weapons? Those who built those eight-sided and five-sided bunkers, who were they? Which countries provided him with those airplanes? Those high-ranking political, security, and military officials who came from various countries - including the United States - to Baghdad and met with him and his men, who were they? You have not addressed these. Who is Saddam? These are worthy of storytelling.

Friends mentioned the issue of storytelling. Yes, I believe we are weak. Of course, the spirit of storytelling in Iran is not weak; the reason is the stories of Ferdowsi and Molavi. Of course, the novel in the form that has been prevalent in Europe and Russia - especially in the nineteenth century and those great and prominent novels - we do not have such a thing in Iran; however, we have the talent for it. I believe this; it is not that we do not have the talent. Of course, we have excelled in poetry; however, not in this form in the novel; but I believe it can be done. After the revolution, some works have been done; now it is not at the level of elevation that one expects; but if pursued and if the Ministry of Culture truly works on this area and writes, it can be done. Now some friends said to write stories for cinema. I do not know, you are more knowledgeable than I; should stories really be written for cinema? Many of the great cinematic works exist, taken from classical works and old stories; it is not clear if a novel has been written specifically for this. Now, even if that is the case, if we make progress in the issue of storytelling and novels and storytelling, this work will be done. Then come and bring these topics to cinema; it will gain great prominence. We have still not done much work in the field of war.

Now I want to tell you one more thing; that we said you have a responsibility - which of course all of you have this responsibility; because your work can be very impactful - this responsibility has a reward before God; that is, you should truly make your intention divine. This lady said that I am pursuing my personal feelings, very well, it is not a problem, build your personal judgment; but with this work, make a divine intention. Intend to please God with yourself and gain reward. You are doing an important job; why deprive yourself of reward? Gain reward with this work, and it is possible. Reward is not just that you make a film about prayer and fasting; no, what revives the ethics of youth, social behaviors, social discipline, seriousness in work, strong faith, and a sense of responsibility in the younger generations has a reward before God. Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) says to Imam Hasan and Imam Husayn: "Work for the reward." This reward is not the dirhams and dinars of this world, which for Amir al-Mu'minin, billions are worth no more than a speck of dust; this reward is divine and heavenly reward. I want to tell you, none of you are in need of divine reward. From this border that we have crossed - the border of death - this is our first need for this reward; whether we want it or not, we will cross this border, and there we need it; there we are alone and need divine reward; you are moving in this field, work for God Almighty. Of course, as an elite human being, an artist, and a keen observer of society and the country and human beings, you can feel a sense of responsibility and also gain human and moral reward.

In any case, I have written many notes that will be useful for me, God willing. These notes that I have taken from the statements, reports, and analyses of friends will be useful for me. In my opinion, what the product of this session should be, first of all, is that we all agree on the importance of cinema; this is accepted by all. Importance means the high artistic status and the influential power it has, and the responsibility that arises from this for those who are in the hierarchy of cinema. In this hierarchy, I may also be regarded as a person who has a responsibility in the system; Mr. Minister certainly falls into this hierarchy. In any case, let us all feel responsible; this is our common agreement that cinema is important. And secondly, ultimately, the content of cinema should be directed towards the reform of the country and society; if criticism is also made, this criticism should be with this perspective, and then I think the disagreements over whether "we should criticize? Is this criticism blackening or nitpicking or not?" will diminish; because when the intention is to reform and progress, this intention will manifest itself in the work. Therefore, this distance will decrease.

Mr. Hatami Kiya says, give us a degree; God has given you degrees, what degree can I give you! Your artistic talent and inclination is the degree that has been given to you. If we want to measure this with material tools, we have wasted it. Of course, we appreciate you; we appreciate you and we also expect. That is, I do not have any hesitation, as a cleric, I truly expect from you, the group of directors. You must strengthen the religious and national values. When we say national values, we should not immediately think of the fourteenth of Farvardin; national values mean the feeling of independence of a nation; cultural independence. In the face of this two-hundred-year cultural imposition of the West, a nation should come and rely on its own culture; this is very valuable; strengthen this. Now sometimes by going to festivals, this may be strengthened, sometimes by not going to festivals, this is strengthened. Where it is necessary not to go, do not go; where it is necessary to go to international festivals, go; go with this intention - now Mr. Ayari has kindly defended the friends of "Cannes" and said that they have told him, why do you blacken so much that we cannot show your film; we must see what Mr. Ayari has done that they have felt sorry for the Iranian nation - in any case, I have no objection to you defending them; but I truly know this. Although I am neither a filmmaker nor connected to these matters; however, you know that our information is not limited to the ways of obtaining information from you; we have broader information. We know that these global organizations, including "Cannes" - now that you mentioned its name - and some other festivals, are truly working; they have goals. They want to politically benefit from the presence of a prominent Iranian artist there. Now I do not know how much they will screen Mr. Majidi's film, how much they will put it in front of the eyes of the people. Yes, they respect at the festival. I will believe their interest in our artist when they promote this film; put it in front of their people and show it on their television, display it in their cinemas; they either do not do these or do them very little. Therefore, when encouragement and appreciation are limited to the festival hall and the award stage of the festival, one does not really believe that their intention - as we say - is very divine. Ultimately, there are political intentions. This is not strange; we also have political intentions in some cultural international issues, and we do not hide it. We work culturally with many countries with political orientations. They also do the same with us. We must be vigilant and aware.

The late Haj Ahmad Agha told me that they were willing to pay eighty thousand dollars of that day for an announcement of Imam's Hajj to be published in one of the American newspapers - one of those well-known newspapers - even in the form of an advertisement; but they did not agree. Haj Ahmad Agha himself told me that we tried; but they did not agree to publish it.

This lady Ebtekar, who was previously the Vice President, wrote a book about the issue of the American embassy, so-called the den of espionage. She herself was one of the students who participated in that work. She spent her childhood in America; the late Dr. Ebtekar - who was our friend - had been in America for years, and this lady is very fluent in the language and her writing and speaking are very good. She wrote this book in English, and then someone translated it into Persian. She herself told me that no American publisher was willing to publish this book! While they insist on repeating the issue of the embassy occupation as an unhealed wound. When I was president, during a trip to the United Nations, a very famous interviewer came and interviewed me, which was widely broadcast. His first question was, why did you take the embassy? I said, come on! Now we have come to the United Nations, and you want to interview me; you set this as the first question?! They are not willing to let it go. From their perspective, they consider it a terrorist and savage act. Now a bright student girl who is neither ignorant nor backward, nor uneducated, nor has a history of terrorism, and who was involved in that issue, explains the matter; they are not willing to publish this. See, this is the issue. Well, she observes her own political interests. In America, this uncensored display only occurs in those areas that do not conflict with American principles. Where there is friction, whether with American principles or with immediate American interests - like the issue of the Gulf War that occurred during Bush's father - there is censorship; very complete and very official and public; without any covering up.

Well, they observe their cultural interests, and we must also observe our cultural interests. We do not expect them to observe our interests; we expect ourselves to observe our interests. Therefore, if you go to festivals, go in such a way that you observe the cultural interests of your country. If it turns out that they are going to observe their interests against the interests of your country, yes, the preference is not to go, the preference is not to attend; this is a clear and obvious matter.

Well, there is much to say; if we want to discuss these notes, it will take a long time. It has now been three hours and five minutes since we have been with you. Thanks be to God, it was a good session. I am happy and pleased with the holding of this session; I thank those who organized this session, all the dear participants who attended here, Mr. Majidi who worked hard and actually directed here, the friends who expressed their opinions well and clearly and shared their viewpoints, and the respected officials of the Ministry of Culture who provided the invitations and were actually the organizers of the session; I sincerely thank all of them. If it were not for the time of prayer approaching, I would have sat with you longer, but now it is time for prayer, I must go.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.